recruiting update on BillikenReport

[GW]

cheeseman said-- "The schollie used goes against your budget so why give it out if the player is not worthy of a full ride. Save the money and use it for recruiting or something else for the team."

I was suggesting that perhaps they were only offering 1 year of scholarship to him if this was possible. If we had to give 4 years for him then no it probably wouldn't be the best. But to only expend 1 year on a possible 4 year player who has some skills sounds like a great get to me- especially at this point where we still have depth issues with the 2 unused schollies and not a lot of experience on the team beyond the starters. If maguire does not advance his game this year or we have some injuries we will be very happy to have Paul. I like the fact that he is a great student (#1 in his class). Majerus is a great teacher so maybe this guy will really suprise us when he soaks up Majerus's teachings like a sponge. Being the cousin of Luke Meyer is an added bonus- he might have been hanging around the team and maybe even playing some pickup with the guys.

I don't see that the money we would save from 1 year of scholarship will do that much for the team- maybe that would be different if we still had Soderberg operating on a shoestring, but Majerus already has pretty much everything he wants. The risk to reward here appears quite favorable imo if it is only a 1 year deal.

[billiken_roy]

ok gw, so what if they give him an athletic scholarship for just next year. you have no problem with them then giving it to someone else next year? because there is no doubt the next year's class has more worthy players to give it to.

[GW]

Thank you for the update. My horrible bad. After recieving this information, I was going to edit what I had sent in reply 22, but I figured I'd just leave it as is and issue an apology to slufanskip instead for getting testy with him. Sorry, my man. I did agree with everything else which you said about Paul being a great pickup- see my reply #25.

[billiken_roy]

finest, i have noticed that 6' guards shoot better in high school than in college when instead of being guarded by 5'9" high school guards they then get defended by 6'4" college guards that are more athletic.

while ekerle might be a better scorer than justin fuehrmeyer was in high school, i remember going to see justin at the shootout his senior year and seeing quite the player. he hasnt exactly tore it up at missouri state.

to succeed as a d-1 guard at 6' tall or shorter and slight of build, you better me one hell of an athlete and basketball player.

there is a reason eckerle has no decent offers for basketball. he might have been a good high school player, but that doesnt always translate to a top 100 d-1 school.

[GW]

I would think that the best scenario would be for this year. Since the 2 schollies are not being used, slotting Paul in doesn't really cost us in the sense of having Paul vs. having someone else. Then yes that would free up that schollie for use in 08 when it will of course be quite useful. Actually, giving Paul any 1 year other than this year does diminish the deal. Probably the next best year to spend, if one was required, would be on Paul's senior year. If we can give Paul any one year with the exception of 08 then I think its a great deal. Your getting possibly 4 years of use of the guy for 1 year scholarship cost and if its this year, then there is no cost playerwise.

[NashvilleBilliken]

But why even bother? He already has an acedemic scholarship and he is apparently pleased with that. Perhaps, not being a scholarship athlete, not as much will be expected of him and he can devote more time to his studies. It sounds like he doesn't have any delusions about his talent and knows he needs an education to make any $$ after college. School is probably #1 in his mind. I think this worked out best for everybody. Paul gets everything he wants and it doesn't cost the program $1.

[VTIME]

He's walk-on. Expect nothing, that way anything he does will be pleasant surprise. He's athletic and he can shoot. Any team could use that.

[GW]

Agree 100% that if Paul will come on academic scholarship alone that is the best deal. In reply #2, futurebilliken said that he spoke to Paul himself and Paul said that they offered 1/2 academic and 1/2 athletic. We were speculating on what that meant. I thought that perhaps they were going to offer him a 1 year scholarship for this year, since if they did there would be no cost playerwise- you would not be sacrificing another player to have Paul. If Paul has full academic all 4 years then this whole thing is moot.

[kmbilliken]

well said, VTIME

[stlsfinest]

You do have a point. Eckerle is definitely athletic and a pretty good scorer. Most importantly, he is a very hard worker. I do not expect him to ever start for SLU. However, I think he'll see some decent minutes and become a contributor before his career if over. He will need to work on becoming more of a true PG in order for that to happen. Please do not mistake his lack of offers for a lack of ability. Mitchell was not exactly a highly sought after prospect either, but many now see him as a steal. 5'11 point guard Travis Rosenkranz from Macon Meridian in Illinois was thought by many scouts to be worthy of some D1 scholarships, but they never materialized. However, he was offered a spot at Illinois as a perferred walk-on. When Jeff Jordan took that spot, Rosenkranz verballed to a D3. It certainly won't hurt us having him on our team.

[slufanskip]

no apology needed to me. Getting testy once in awhile keeps the board fun. I was going by Nate's comment that it was an academic ride.

Just my opinion but an apology would be due if you were to turn it ugly and personal, other than that no need.

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[GOSLU68]

V I see this as a movement that is long overdue; playing Coffey and Bennett last year was a sign of frustration on BS part; If we improve from the best to the bench we have to be better abd we lacked shooters at every position; I would like to see us have a half a dozen guys with fresh legs who would put the ball up first chance they get if they can shoot over 40% from the three that is even better; it is inffectious-believing your team is hot happens when you see the ball go in-our assists will go up and our rebounds will go up if we have players who will shoot open or not

[Box and Won]

Phillip Hunt was definitely a serviceable player as a walk-on at 5'11 as well.

[jimbofive]

Box

Yes, they still have the Pre-Med Scholar program... I'm sure he's in it. Sounds like a world-beater type. The kind of guy the dean throws both daughters at as he slips the keys to their chastity belts into Paul's mailbox in Gries...